


Kitten Kenway

by my_soliloquy_chamber



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Crack, Cute, Fluff, Gen, Humor, kitten!Kenway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:35:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26870746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_soliloquy_chamber/pseuds/my_soliloquy_chamber
Summary: After angering a sea witch, Edward Kenway is turned into a kitten and Adéwalé has to figure out how to save the day.
Comments: 21
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

“Edward James Kenway! You are a man most foul! Greedy, selfish, and wreaking havoc in the lives of others! You believe you need no one, and can throw others to the wolves without consequence! Well, this is your consequence! 

Do you have anything to say before accepting your punishment?”

Kenway smirked up at the Sea Witch where she towered over the ship on a cresting wave, suspended in motion. “There should be a ‘Captain’ in there somewhere.”

The crew groaned around him and the witch screamed in frustration. The wave unfroze and crashed over the ship, sending them all tumbling. When they recovered and regained their feet, Kenway was gone. Only his clothes remained in a rumpled pile on the deck. Adé walked up to it and saw a small bump moving under the fabric. He crouched down and watched as the bump journeyed to the edge of the pile.

The hood of his former Captain’s robes rustled, and out poked the head of a tiny ginger kitten, looking quite solemn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say, except that I’m very tired of writing violence and also this took less than five minutes.
> 
> I may add some kitten kenway adventures in the future, but I will not make any promises.


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

“Captain Kenway?” The little fuzzy head moved in what might have been a nod, and the tiny pink nose sniffed gingerly at the air. Around them, the crew nearest murmured and crowded around the bundle of clothes to see what Adéwalé was looking at. Their shadows fell over the kitten and the murmuring grew louder as heavy steps thundered over the deck when Jack, the Boatswain, ran up to them where they had gathered at the helm. The little kitten disappeared back in under the hood, the fabric trembling where the tiny bump cowered.

Kenway or not, Adé did not want the little kitten crushed by a boot, and so swept it and the clothes into his arms and stood, looking at the men. “Is the witch gone?”

Jack nodded, “No sign of it”. He peered at the bundle of cloth in Adéwalé’s arms. “The Captain’s gone?”

“That is difficult to say. He is either gone and replaced by a _cat_ , or he has been changed into a cat by the witch.” Adé shook his head. “Either way, Kenway is not available to serve as our Captain at the moment.”

Jack lifted the hood to expose the little kitten where it lay trembling inside the clothes in Adéwalé’s arms. At first the man just stared in slack-jawed amazement, and the crew surrounding them joined in, staring and murmuring, mingled with the occasional ‘awww’. The tiny fuzzball had its ears flattened and tail tucked in fear, and the large eyes peered up at the gathered men with clear apprehension. Then Jack brayed out a loud laugh, startling Adé, the kitten and the crowd of pirates. 

Before he had a chance to stop it, a ginger streak flew from his arms and disappeared across the deck. Jack kept laughing and wheezing, trying to push out coherent words. “Of course! Of _course_ , he’s a tiny _adorable_ **_kitten_**! Of course that’s Kenway!” He brayed out another bout of laughter while Adé tried to scan the deck of a glimpse of ginger furr. “There’s nothin’ so foolhardy and suicidal as a kitten! They’re so stupid, they get themselves into every possible trouble there is! But everyone _loves_ them and _forgives_ them! Because they’re so _sweet_ and _cute_! Especially _women_! Women love kittens!”

Jack’s face was turning an alarming shade of purple as he kept laughing hysterically, while continuing to speak, and clearly not breathing enough. The crew around them were joining in the laughter and Adé tried to get their attention to calm them down and get his voice heard. “Jack!”

But Jack couldn’t hear him, or couldn’t stop. “Of course he’s a _kitten_! He’ll be able to keep up with all the same shenanigans he’s been doing all along! But now! **Now**! No rum! No gold! No women!” Jack was desperately sucking in air between his words. “It’s the purrfect punishment!”

“BOATSWAIN JACK!” Adéwalé roared over the noise of the men and stunned them all into silence. Jack was still breathing heavily, tears streaking his weathered cheeks, but was silent as he stared at his Quartermaster. “Fitting punishment or not, the cat is _gone_. You _frightened_ it. So now there’s a cat hiding on the ship. A cat which you claim is too foolish to keep itself alive.” He turned to the crowd. “Find it, you useless jagabats!”

There was a cacophony of running feet, laughter, and shouts of “Here kitty kitty!” as the crew fanned out over the ship searching for a sign of the little ginger kitten. Occasionally, a shout of “over there!” had several men stomping around and hollering in presumptive triumph, before a little streak of furr shot between their feet and the hunt started again.

“Mr Adéwalé, if I may?” Adé turned and looked at the young man standing by his side. It was George, an englishman pressed into service from a Navy ship some months past. He nodded for the boy to speak. “Growing up we had several cats on our farm, and well… this is not the way to capture one. This is only frightening the poor thing, and will either end with it falling into the drink and drowning, or falling down dead from fright.”

Adé frowned and glared at the crew in their merry chase. “So? What is your advice?”

The young man smiled. “Stop searching. Have everyone go back to their duties, and if they see the kitten, ignore it.” The boy rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d say best thing is to prop the door of the Captain’s cabin open and empty, and just wait. Eventually it will calm down enough to slink in there.”

Adéwalé felt skeptical. He knew almost nothing about cats and kittens, but the idea that the animal would be better off left to its own devices on the ship, especially after what Jack said of their foolishness, made him doubtful. “And why would this cat go in there instead of tearing up the ship?”

He saw George stifle a laugh and growled at him. “Sir. It’s just a baby. It can't tear _anything_ apart. And if that’s really Captain Kenway, then the cabin will be a familiar and safe space to him. If not, well, the cabin will be the only place that is dark and free of frightening people, making it the best place for it to hide.”

Adé nodded, it did sound reasonable when put like that, and the crew really couldn’t keep up with the ridiculous chasing around they were doing now. He drew a deep breath and hollered, “STOP!”, making the crew freeze and turn to look at him. “Get back to work! Leave the stupid animal be! We need to get back to Nassau, man your stations!”

He dropped the clothes in his arms and took the helm. For the next hour or two, he stood, steering the ship back towards their base and keeping a watchful eye for anything ginger. A few times a crew man would exclaim or point with excitement and Adé would shout at them to get back to work and leave the animal be.

* * *

  
As dusk fell, he handed the helm off and gathered up the clothes again, carrying them into the cabin below. He stood just inside the door a moment, letting his eyes adjust, and sighed. Witches and magic and _kittens_ were one thing. Having to tell Kenway’s brethren that he was gone, **and** try to convince them he was in fact a _cat_ without losing his own head, _that_ was the real problem.

A smell of urine wafted up to his nose and Adé looked down at the bundle in his hands. Maybe the cat had made its way back into the clothes during the commotion? He searched through the cloth and found nothing but a small wet stain in the hood where the kitten had cowered. It had wet itself with fright.

He dropped the clothes unceremoniously on the floor and propped the door open a bit, before he walked deeper into the cabin and sat down at the desk. He sat waiting in the dark, staring at the door, until finally, **_finally_ ** , a very small shadow slunk inside and disappeared behind some crates.  
  


* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok... so I will probably continue this, but I’m just not comfortable setting it as wip when I don’t know for sure I will finish it.  
> Sorry.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I want to include the occasional photo in this, but it turns out it’s next to impossible to find pictures of cute ginger kittens in situations and settings that may be an 18th century pirate ship. I know, crazy right?  
> Anyway, since I think it would be an overreaction to acquire myself a ginger kitten, AND a 18th century ship and crew, AND a semblance of photography skills, I’m just going to use what I find on the internet, ok?  
> And you will use your imagination to change any modern or out of place things into appropriate settings or people in your mind. Deal?

* * *

  
Adéwalé sat still at the desk for a while longer before getting up and walking over to close the door, trapping the animal inside. “Captain Kenway?” He waited for any sign of movement, staring into the darkness between the crates, feeling foolish at trying to talk to a  _ cat _ and angry at his Captain for getting into this mess in the first place.

It was one thing to not believe in magic when you had never seen proof of its existence, but to still refuse to believe, to be insolent and rude even, when an obvious wielder of magic was standing atop of a massive wave, frozen in time, that was… that was typical Kenway. He only believed in the magic of gold.

There was no movement or sound from behind the crates at all. Surely if this animal was Kenway, it would not be hiding and covering in fear now that the threat of accidental stomping boots was gone. “Kenway?”

Adé grabbed a candle from a table and walked closer to where he’d seen the tiny shadow last. Peering over and around the crates and boxes, he saw nothing that might be the trace of a kitten. Behind him the door opened and he whipped around ready to yell at the intruder for potentially letting the cat escape again, but the words died in his throat when he saw George slipping inside and quickly closing the door behind him. “Did he come inside, sir?”

“He did. Ran in between these crates and now I can’t find him.”

“Hmm, well, cats are very good at hiding, and he probably wouldn’t have stayed where you saw him run in, but would move in further to hide.” Adé watched George walking deeper into the cabin, peering around boxes, sacks, and crates, occasionally shifting things around to get in closer. Finally he let out a soft sigh, “There you are. That looks like a good hiding place, nice and cozy and out of reach from us big scary people.”

The young man’s voice was soft and calming, pitched low to not startle or frighten. Adé took his cue from the more experienced cat-wrangler and walked over with soft, gentle steps, keeping silent. He peered over the man’s shoulder, searching the dark space, and found the kitten. It was hiding in a mess of rolled up rugs and cloth, clearly still afraid and cowering, staring at them with his little anxious face.

“It’s alright little friend, we are not going to hurt you. You just stay right there as long as you like. You’ve had such a trying day, haven’t you? You must be exhausted, and very hungry.” George crouched down and opened a tote Adé hadn’t even realized he was carrying, and pulled out a small wooden cup, a flask and a small piece of meat. He poured water from the flask into the cup and then pushed it in between the crates as far as he could reach. Then he took the meat - shark Adé thought - and tore it into smaller pieces, making a pile next to the bowl of water.

He stood back up and wiped his hands on his trousers. “There you are, little friend, some food and water for when you feel safe enough to have it.” He walked away to the other side of the cabin and motioned for Adé to follow. “Sir, I’ve been thinking. The kitten is so small. Even if it is Kenway, maybe all of him can’t fit inside.” George’s voice was still pitched low, soft and calm, and Adé found himself whispering.

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe all of Kenway’s life and memories and human experiences can’t fit into a little kitten head, and so he doesn’t remember who he is or who any of us are? So this may be Captain Kenway, even if he shows no signs of it.”

Adéwalé thought on it, but decided it didn’t matter, the outcome was the same. “Maybe it’s Kenway who cannot remember, or maybe it’s just a cat, either way does not matter. Kenway cannot be our Captain.”

George looked a little pained and looked over at the crates hiding the little furrball. “What are you going to do? Just… give up?” 

Adé felt some irritation.  _ Just _ give up? Just give up  _ what _ ? There wasn’t anything they could do here. The witch had vanished, they didn’t know how to get her back, and didn’t know what to say or do to if she did return. “We are going to Nassau. Maybe the more experienced sailors there will have an idea what to do to return Captain Kenway to his former self. So no, we are not _giving up_ , no.

George nodded. “Alright. Well, I’ll just, um, go then. I’m sure he’ll be fine here. Quiet and dark, food and water.” The young man left and Adé stood for a moment, unsure what he should do. It felt wrong to leave the cabin and go get some sleep, even if George probably was right and that the cat was safe. 

Making up his mind to stay, he walked softly over the floor and grabbed Kenway’s hammock and hung it across the cabin from the crates, but positioned it so he could see the bowl of water in the shadows, and laid himself down to rest.

He didn’t know how much later it was that he opened his eyes and looked over, seeing the tiny kitten standing over the little pile of shark meat, sniffing it delicately. 

Adé let his eyes close again and drifted back to sleep.  
  


* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and I seem to have given up on the idea that I may not follow through on this fic to its (surely fuzzy and adorable) conclusion.  
> I’m having way to much fun scouring the internet for pictures of kittens to just give up.


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

When Adé woke up the next morning he saw the kitten sitting by the stack of crates, watching him with its little fuzzy head cocked to the side. As soon as he moved however, the animal vanished back into its hiding place, and Adé sighed. If his friend was that little cat, surely he would recognize his Quartermaster and know he was safe? 

He stretched, peering in between the crates as he did and saw that the small pile of meat was gone. At least the animal wouldn’t starve to death before they got to Nassau. Walking to the door, he stopped just before slipping outside and turned back to the room. Feeling both stupid for talking to a cat and guilty for leaving it alone in the cabin without any explanation, he took a breath and tried to speak in the same soft, calming voice George had. “I will leave now to tend to the ship and crew. You are staying in here, where you are safe. I will be back later… don’t do anything foolish while I am gone.”

* * *

  
  


Outside it was early morning and the crew were just waking up and taking up their stations. Jack was standing on the quarterdeck and greeted Adéwalé as he ascended the steps. “Morning, Mr Adéwalé. How’s our kitten Captain fairing?”

“The cat is well enough, Jack. Very skittish.”

“Aye, George told me. Said he took him food and water last night and the poor little thing was shaking like a leaf. We must have scared him right proper.” Adé nodded and the Boatswain continued. “He said it was not possible to find if the cat is just a cat, or an enchanted Kenway.”

“That is true. I have yet to find evidence of Kenway in the animal, but I have not spent time examining it.”

Jack nodded and watched the sea for a few moments before speaking again. “It might be prudent to discover the answer before we reach Nassau. His friends might not take kindly to the uncertainty.”

“Yes, I agree. I will find George and ask him to spend some time with the animal.” He started to walk away, but Jack stopped him.

“Adé, you should be doing it yourself.” 

But Adéwalé shook his head. “I know nothing of cats, and George has proven himself well capable of dealing with the animal.”

“That may be, but we are not trying to care for a cat, we are trying to find our Captain. Kenway doesn’t know George, but he does know you. If anyone will be able to find him in that furry little beast, it will be you.” 

Adé was not comfortable with the prospect, but nodded and went to find George, certain he would need some advice if he were to succeed.

* * *

Descending down into the hold, he came upon George right away. “Mr Adéwalé! How is our furry little friend doing? Did he eat?”

“He did, all of the meat you put out was gone this morning.” George smiled and looked at him expectantly so Adé continued. “He is still frightened and hiding, and I can’t ascertain if it’s Kenway or just a cat. Which I need to do. Before we arrive in Nassau.”

George was still smiling like he expected Adé to keep talking, but when nothing more came from the Quartermaster his smile turned a bit uncertain. “Right. How would we find that out?”

Irritation flared up in Adé but he pushed it away firmly, reminding himself that George only knew about cats, not magic cats. “I need to watch the cat, interact with it, to try to find anything of Kenway, but…”

“...but you have no experience with cats.” George supplied.

“Precisely. You need to help me with that.” 

The smile was back on the young man’s face. “No, problem. We’ll go get some more food for him and I’ll teach you the basics of handling a cat.”

They popped into the galley grabbing another small chunk of shark meat, and headed to the cabin.

“Has he been hiding from you all night? He never came out from the crates?”

“Well, just before I fell asleep I saw him sniffing at the food, and when I woke up he was sitting in the open staring at me. But he disappeared as soon as I moved.”

“Well, then he’s curious about you at least. That’s a good start.”

* * *

When they opened the door, they saw the kitten standing in the pile of Kenway’s clothes, but at the sight of them the cat bolted in between the crates again. George walked in and up to where he’d put food and water last night and began to tear the meat up, but Adé hesitated by the door. The smell of urine was back, and he looked around at the source. In the middle of the pile of clothes was a small wet spot, and a tiny little turd. Adé let out a sound between a laugh and a gasp, making George look over. “What?”

“The cat has soiled Kenway’s clothes. On purpose. Surely that is not something our Kenway would do? He is very proud of those robes.”

George walked over and looked at the little mess with a small smile. “Hm… yes, that may be one sign that this is not Kenway. But it could be something else. He might not recognize them as his robes from his view on the floor, or they smell familiar and he wanted to mark his ownership of them. Cats pee on things to warn off other cats.”

Adéwalé raised a skeptical eyebrow but let the matter drop and focused on the task at hand. “What do I need to do so he won’t be scared anymore?”

”Well, you need to spend time here with him. Being unthreatening like yesterday, and you should try to get him to play with you.”

“Play?” How could he get the cat to play with him when it was scared and hiding? And how did you even  _ play _ with a cat?

George grinned at him. “Yes, play. He’s a kitten. They are playful, rambunctious, and curious. You encourage those things and he’ll forget his fear and trust you. Now, go and see if you can find him.”

Adé walked over to the crates where the food was and looked around in search of the kitten. Leaning and crouching and craning his neck, he finally spotted the ginger fur closer to the door than the food. The kitten was laying on the floor, attacking a crate above him with tiny claws and teeth. When Adé got close, it spotted him and froze but didn’t run away. Instead it stayed put, halfway under the crate, and watched him warily.

“He is here.” Adéwalé spoke in a soft calm voice and George came over.

Speaking in the same soft tone, the man handed him a piece of string. “Here, dangle this nearby. He will be curious and want to chase it. When he does, drag it over the floor just out of his reach.”

Adé took the string and reached his hand out closer to the cat, who twitched but stayed in his spot under the crate, staring intently at him. When Adé let the string fall towards the floor, the kitten’s eyes shifted, focusing on the dangling end.

George stood close behind him, peering over his shoulder. “Good. You have his attention, now twitch it a little.” Adé did, and the kitten jerked a little but didn’t move. “Lower the end to the floor and let it stay still for a while, then jerk it again.”

As he let the string sink to the floor, the kitten followed the movement, eyes wide. When Adé twitched the string, the cat flipped over onto all fours, pressed low to the floorboards. He twitched the string again, the pupils in the large eyes grew large and the kitten’s little butt came up off the floor and started to wiggle.

Beside him, George whispered softly. “Get ready. He’s about to pounce.”

Not more than a second later, the kitten attacked the string. Its little paws tried to wrap around it and the small fangs bit enthusiastically at the captured prey.

George stepped away and smiled wide. “There you go. Now all you need to do is sit down on the floor and keep dragging that string, until he gets bored or tired. Try to pull it over your legs or your lap so he’ll be forced to climb onto you and learn that you’re not dangerous. And try to pet him gently if he lets you.”

Adé kept his eyes on the kitten but nodded at George’s words. It was not until he heard the door click that he realized the other man had left. Lowering himself down to sit cross leg the floor, he dangled the string by his knee and then dragged it to the other knee. The kitten pounced and chased, hopped and wiggled, bit and clawed. It’s enthusiasm didn’t seem to wane at all, and soon Adé had it climbing all over his lap in its little quest to vanquish the evil string.

Cautiously he stroked a finger lightly over the little back when the cat was busy chewing on the string in its paws, and he marveled at how soft and warm the little creature was.

* * *

They played for a long time, and eventually the kitten seemed to beginning to become tired. Instead of running around on the floor, it had flopped down into Adé’s lap and was batting at the string with its little paws, occasionally catching it to chew on the end for a bit.  Finally, it started to blink slowly and stopped paying attention to the string, instead licking and bit at its paws and yawning widely. 

[ ](https://i.imgur.com/Ww5h81V.jpg)

Adé put the string aside and gave the little furry head gentle strokes with his fingers, and watched as the blinks got slower and longer, until the kitten couldn’t keep hold of wakefulness anymore and fell asleep, curled up in his lap.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last we saw him, Kitten Kenway tuckered himself out playing with Adéwalé, so now he needs a nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to update. Work has been particularly draining for a while, but with the holidays I now have some time off to relax and catch up on my writing. :)

* * *

  
Adéwalé sat on the floor a while longer, stroking the soft fur with gentle fingers and watching the small body move with each sleeping breath. He still didn’t know if this could possibly be Kenway, but now that the cat had come to trust him, maybe it would be possible to figure out.

Feeling foolish for just sitting on the floor with a sleeping cat when there’s work to be done and a crew to manage, Adé scooped the kitten up in his hand and stood, looking around for a suitable place to deposit him. Then he thought better of it and simply strode out of the cabin, cat in hand.

* * *

Outside was bright and noisy, the crew animated and the wind strong. He climbed the steps to the quarterdeck and nodded to Jack. “How goes it?”

“Fine, fine. We’re making good time. How’s your little charge doing?” Jack was a little distracted, eyes flitting between the horizon, the crew on the deck before them, and to Adéwalé at his side.

Adé lifted his hand and held up the kitten for Jack to see. “Sleeping. He played until he exhausted himself.”

Jack glanced over and Adé watched his face crumple into something he’d never seen on the man before. The weathered face leaned in close to the cat in Adewale’s raised hand, and an alarming high pitched sound issued from the Boatswain. “Oooo….” Adé was about to yank his hand away and call for help from the crew when he realized that Jack was smiling and cooing, and not having some sort of _fit_. “Look at the fuzzy nuzzy little sweetness! Sleeping, bless him! And so little, fits in the palm. Oooo…”

Well, maybe it was a fit, but not a dangerous one to the cat at least. Adé stared in disbelief for a moment before clearing his throat. “Jack.” The man glanced up at him, eyes shining bright. “Jack. Maybe I should take the helm for a while and you can go… “ He doesn’t say ‘lay down and rest’, but he wants to, the man clearly needs it.

“Oh, sure thing, Adé. You want me to take him?” The Boatswain looked hopeful and lifted a hand. Adéwalé shook his head and shifted to stand in front of the wheel, pushing Jack out of the way while tucking the cat against his shoulder. 

Jack slunk off and Adé ended up transferring the kitten to his shoulder so he could grip the helm with both hands. Feeling the warm little body move with each little breath, he found himself fighting a smile.

* * *

It’s a good long while before the kitten wakes up again. Several members of the crew taking detours over the quarterdeck to stare and quietly coo at their little passenger, the otherwise lively crew was subdued, a silent agreement to not disturb or frighten the kitten this time.

George showed up and stood leaning against the railing, looking at the cat with a warm smile. “It looks like you two are getting along nicely. Did you figure out if it’s the Captain, yet?” 

Adé shook his head. “No, he played with the string until he fell asleep.” 

They were silent for a few moments until Adé spoke again. “How do I figure out if it’s Kenway? It obviously doesn’t know us or the ship.” He let out a frustrated sigh. “What do I do? Give him rum, gold, and some whores, see if he likes it?”

George let out a barking laugh and then looked guiltily at Adé’s shoulder. “Sorry. I woke him up.”

Adéwalé glanced at the kitten and saw it yawn, bleary eyes blinking in the bright light.

[ ](https://i.imgur.com/ktAKwTV.jpg)

“Good morning, little guy. Did you have a nice nap?” George leaned in and spoke in that soft, calm voice. He reached out and stroked a finger over the fuzzy little head. The kitten yawned again and stood up, stretching its little body with a small ‘mrow’.

It sat on Adé’s shoulder for a few minutes, blinking its tired eyes and looking around at the ship and crew. Seemingly bored with just sitting, or maybe wanting a different view, the cat started to walk along his shoulders, from one side, slinking around his neck, and all the way to the other. Then it stood on its hind legs, paws against Adé’s cheek, sniffing his ear for a moment before scrambling up to stand on his head.

“Ow, hey! I could do without the claws in my skull.” He lifted his hand to pluck the kitten off, but George beat him to it, scooping it up with gentle hands and stroking the soft fur.

“How about I take this little guy for a while, get him something to eat?” George walked off, slipping below deck, tickling the kitten in his palm.

They were nearing Nassau, and Adé focused on navigating around the islets and sand dunes into the bay. He saw the ships of both Captain Thatch and Captain Kidd moored off the shore, and sighed. They had run out of time, there was nothing for it. He had to tell Edward’s friends that he was gone. Or close enough to it, anyway.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s time to face the music and inform Kenway’s friends in Nassau about what the Sea Witch has done.

* * *

  
Adéwalé stayed to oversee the ferrying of cargo to shore, in a not at all subtle attempt to delay the inevitable confrontation with Kenway’s friends. George had returned the kitten to Adé’s shoulder and disappeared with the rest of the crew and cargo.

The cat had climbed around on his shoulders and back while Adé watched the crates and sacks being loaded onto rowboats, its tiny needle claws catching in cloth and leather, but mostly in Adéwalé’s skin. The little creature was obviously having a grand time playing, making tiny squeaky mews and strange bird-like trilling noises.

Once they boarded a boat to take them to shore though, it settled down and sat calm and attentive on his shoulder, staring at the water and the shore.

With slow, heavy steps he started walking towards the Old Avery. Even from a distance he could see several of his crew already at the tavern, and wondered if the story had already been told so he would be spared from telling it himself.

Ascending the stairs, he saw Thatch seated by the other staircase but made a beeline for the bartender instead. He downed half of his tankard of rum before he heard the old Captain call out. “Adé! Your crew tells me you’ve been having quite the adventure. Witches and magic and sea creatures! I think you’ve been keeping them away from shore too long. Lost their marbles, the lot of them. Where’s Kenway? I seem to need to have a word with him about maintaining crew morale.” He looked around while laughing uproariously, joined by several other patrons. None of the Jackdaw crew of course.

Adé walked over, meeting Thatch’s humorous grin with a frown. Before he could speak though, the kitten on his shoulder gave a squeak and launched itself in a death defying leap off his shoulder. As soon as it hit the rough planks it was running as fast as its little legs could carry it until it reached Thatch. There it climbed up the man’s legs and stood on his chest, screaming it’s tiny kitten squeaks into his face. 

Thatch’s hand came up as if by instinct and cradled the little body, a look of surprise on his face. “Well, who’s this? Did ya get a cat for the ship, Adé? Seems a bit small, wouldn’t win a fight with a rat, this one.”

Adé stopped in front of the man’s chair. “Kenway.” He watched as the kitten started rubbing its little face against Thatch’s beard, clawing, licking, chewing, and generally being a nuisance.

[ ](https://i.imgur.com/MqzqtDY.jpg)

Thatch was clearly amused though, smiling delightedly at the attention. “Right, of course. Kenway got the cat. Where is he?” 

“Right there. _That’s_ Kenway.” Adé sat down heavily in a chair and drained the rest of his rum, setting the tankard on the table. He still couldn’t be sure it was really Kenway of course, but considering the cat’s reaction to Thatch, it was a reasonable bet. Thatch was a very good friend of Kenway, his favorite even.

Thatch was still distracted by the affectionate, fluffy menace in his beard and chuckled. “What?”

Adé sighed and reached out, grabbing the kitten and holding it up between them. “This is Kenway. He pissed off a Sea Witch and she cursed him into a kitten. Either that or she replaced him with a kitten. After she did her magic Kenway was gone, nothing left but his robes in a pile on deck. And in the middle of those robes was this cat.”

The kitten was struggling in his hand, little feet working to try and get a hold so it could climb away. Adé sighed again and put it down on the table. Thatch wasn’t smiling anymore, a slight frown sliding over his face while his eyes roamed over the Jackdaw crew. “Tosh! Where’s Kenway?”

Just then, James Kidd arrived and dropped down in the seat next to Thatch, eyeing the cat who was exploring the table, sniffing at a discarded pipe and trying to climb an unlit candle. “What’s going on?”

Thatch scoffed and gestured at Adé and his crew. “This lot are trying to convince us that Kenway was _cursed_ by a _witch_ and turned into a _kitten_.” He pointed to the cat on the table who was trying stand up to sniff the opening of an empty bottle but only succeeded in losing its balance and knocking the bottle over. 

“They’ve all been out at sea too long. Kenway thinking this dumb prank would fool anyone… stupid boy.” He raised his voice over the din of the tavern and the street below. “That’s enough, Kenway! I don’t appreciate you thinking I’m this stupid!”

Kidd leaned back in his seat, arms crossed and a smirk on his lips. “I don’t know…seems like it could be Kenway to me.” He jerked his chin at the kitten who had managed to climb into Adé empty tankard, it’s fuzzy butt sticking out at the top, little legs and tail working in the air.

Adé cursed and grabbed the monster, pulling it out and putting it in his lap. “Don’t _do_ that! You’re _tiny_ , you’ll _die_!” The kitten’s whiskers and muzzle were wet and it’s little pink tongue was trying to lick up all the drops until Adé wiped it clean with a rag from his pocket. 

Thatch leaned forward, elbows on his knees and stared at the cat. He glanced up at Adé, one bushy eyebrow raised. “You think this is Kenway? You really believe that?” 

He pointed at the animal, finger poking into its side, and the kitten whipped around playful batting and biting at the presented digit. Thatch whipped his hand away and cursed. “Ow! Get off me!” 

The kitten fell over onto its back, almost falling off Adé’s leg until he caught himself, claws digging into the trousers. It pulled itself up and turned around, aiming an angry squeak at Thatch before climbing up onto Adé’s shoulder and turning his back on them all, his furr a little raised and puffy with irritation.

“Awww. You broke his tiny trust.” Kidd was laughing and elbowing Thatch in the ribs. “Look at him, he’s so _angry_ at you!”  
  


Adé sighed, _again_ , and glared at the two Captains. “Focus. This is serious. Whether that is Kenway, or a cat has _replaced_ Kenway is not important. What is important is _how do we get him back_?!”

But Thatch was scowling at him now, face dark with anger. The man opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a loud shrieking. A _dancer_ had entered the tavern and upon seeing the kitten on Adé’s shoulder had screamed and ran forward, scooping the little fluff ball into her hands. “Look at you! You are so sweet! Just the sweetest little kitty I ever saw!” 

She kissed his head and back and belly and tiny pink nose before looking up at Adéwalé with shining eyes. “It’s so precious! Is it yours?” 

Adé just stared at her, dumbfounded. She was clutching the kitten to her chest now, and before any of them could react, it had wiggled itself into her cleavage. The dancer giggled as the cat kneaded the pillowy mounds with its little paws, tiny pink tongue licking the skin.

“Stop that, Kenway! That’s precisely how you got into this mess in the first place!” He reached out to grab the kitten, but it made a fast getaway up over the woman’s back and jumped to the floor out of sight. “Dammit, where did he go?”

They all looked around the tavern, searching for any sign of ginger fur, when Kidd laughed and pointed. The kitten was sitting underneath the dancer, staring up her skirt. At the sound of Kidd’s laughter it looked around at them and met Adé’s eyes, giving him an exaggerated wink before standing on his hind legs to lick at the woman’s calf.

Adé scowled at him, while Kidd was doubled over with laughter. Thatch stared slack jawed and grabbed a tankard of rum from a nearby sailor, downing it in one long gulp. “I think you might be right there, Adé. That’s either Kenway or a _very_ strange kitten.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shockingly, it was not possible to find a picture of a ginger kitten playing with a Thatch lookalike, so I commissioned the talented @adewaleboobscars (tumblr) to draw a picture instead. :)
> 
> Oh, and did you notice? Kitten Kenway can do the leap of faith too. ;)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! Let’s see how this strange tale of magic and kittens resolves itself.

* * *

  
“So, what do we do?”

They were sitting in the sand down by the shore, eyes a bit wide and fingers playing nervously with their now empty bottles of rum, after saving Kenway from the dancer - or the dancer for Kenway in truth - and now the furry little fiend was asleep on Adéwalé’s shoulder and the seriousness of the situation had settled on the two Pirate Captains. 

[ ](https://i.imgur.com/D0i6hCN.jpg)

He shook his head at the other two. “If I knew how to fix this I would have done that instead of coming here.”

“What breaks curses?” Kidd spoke in a serious tone now, devoid of the laughter from earlier. “Or spells…”

“Right, well, there’s…” Thatch started confidently but trailed off into silence.

“The witch who did it could undo it. Also killing her might break it. Probably.” Kidd sounded skeptical. “But how would we find her?”

“No idea. Maybe a different witch could break it?” Thatch’s was scratching his chin, making his beard move in a way that would surely have enticed the kitten, if he’d been awake.

Adé sighed, irritated. “How would we find a different witch if we can’t find this one?” 

Thatch winced. “True, true. Good point.”

They lapsed back into silence for a while, staring at the horizon. Then Thatch cursed. “If we’d been back in England, it’d be another story. There, you could  _ find _ people. Always a friend of an acquaintance who had an uncle who knew someone, and bam! We’d find the witch. Or  _ a _ witch. But here… ask me to find you a smuggler or a soldier on the take and I’ll have a name and coordinates in a day, but weird stuff? No idea where to even start.”

Before Adé could think too hard on whether  _ he _ had a network of connections like that, Kidd got a thoughtful look on his face and hummed. 

“Well… I might know someone who knows about local weird stuff. We could possibly ask him.” He reached out and stroked the sleeping kitten with a finger, smirk on his lips. “Or we could just leave him like this. Can’t get himself or anyone else into trouble like this, and he’s  _ very _ cute.”

Adé shifted his shoulder and Kenway out of reach, scowling. “He’s getting into plenty trouble still, and now he’s defenseless against those who’d want to hurt him. But I’ll keep that in mind if anything similar befalls you, Kidd, and make sure no one tries to help you.”

The young man scowled back but Thatch interrupted before he could retort. “Where do we find the man who might be able to help?”

“Tulum. West of Cuba.”

Thatch huffed in irritation. “That’s clear on the other side of the West Indies! I can’t drag my crew there for a kitten, even if it is Kenway.”

“The Jackdaw can go alone if we’re given directions.”

Kidd shook his head “No, he doesn’t know you and won’t talk to you. We’ll have to go together.”

* * *

So they set out again, following Kidd across the sea, hoisting their sails high to make good time. 

The crew of the Jackdaw were almost back to normal, almost forgetting that the little kitten running around on deck, wreaking havoc, used to be their Captain.

The little devil was having a grand old time running around under heavy boots, climbing high in the rigging, and throwing himself heedlessly down to the deck again.

Adéwalé was sure his hair would turn grey from the stress of watching the kitten put himself in every harm’s way available, if he had any hair to turn that is. Finally, he shut himself in the Captain’s cabin and let George deal with the little menace until they reached Tulum.

* * *

Captain Kidd was adamant that he had to go talk to the mysterious man alone and left Adé and Kenway to wait for him on the beach while he disappeared into the thick jungle. 

They had to wait a very long time before Kidd returned, Adé amused himself by watching Kenway. Kenway, in turn, amused himself by exploring the beach.

He played with the sand, bounded over the grass, and climbed the trees until he was exhausted and needed a nap. Then I walked over on tired legs and tried to climb Adé’s trousers while big yawns wracked his little body. The kitten barely reached the knee before he nodded off and hung limp from the fabric by his little claws.

Adé took pity and scooped him up, depositing the cat on his broad shoulder before leaning back against a palm tree and closing his eyes.

When Kidd  _ finally _ returned, Adé had nodded off but started awake when the young man called his name.

He was not alone, beside him stood a middle aged man and a  _ very _ old woman, both in strange hooded clothes. They watched silently as he stood up, their eyes fixed on the kitten.

The man spoke in a slow, serious tone. “This is the man turned cat?”

“Yes, mentor.” Kidd sounded strange. Eager to please and full of deference. Gone were any trace of teasing and ill humor that had plagued him in Nassau.

The man - mentor - looked at Adéwalé. “May I hold the cat?”

Nodding, he picked up the sleeping Kenway and handed him over. The stranger took the kitten with gentle hands and turned to the old woman.

Together they examined him closely, checking his eyes, ears, paws, furr, tail, and murmuring in a language Adé didn’t know.

When they finished, the man handed the cat back and nodded. “Yes, this is indeed your former Captain.”

He wanted to ask how they could possibly know that, and also why they thought he’d sailed the Jackdaw all the way to Tulum for them to tell him what he already knew, but Kidd spoke first.

“Do you know how to turn him back, Mentor?”

The old woman murmured in the man’s ear for a long time, who seemed to frown deeper with every word. When the woman fell silent, there was a pause until she nudged the Mentor in the side and he nodded, clearing his throat.

“We think we might know how to break the curse. It’s a little difficult to translate. There needs to be great love. And great faith. And that great love must be expressed to show the great faith.”

Adé looked at Kidd with confusion who in turn looked at his mentor with uncertainty. “Um… There needs to be great love? For Kenway?”

The mentor nodded. “Yes, and great faith.”

“Faith in Kenway?”

It was the mentor’s turn to be uncertain and he turned to the old woman to confer again. “No, great faith in the magic.”

Adé looked down at the still sleeping kitten in his hands and cleared his throat. “What do you mean by expressing the love to show the faith?”

The mentor shrugged. “That depends on the culture. Different cultures express love differently. How does Kenway’s culture express love?”

Kidd looked to be concentrating really hard, eyes squeezed shut and head tilted to the side. “Great love for Kenway needs to be expressed in a culturally appropriate way to show that there is great faith in magic, which will break the curse…”

They all stood silent a moment and then Kidd shouted so loudly they all jumped and Kenway woke up with a start and a tiny meow.

“Holy Jaysus and the Apostles! You mean True Love’s Kiss!”

Kidd’s voice had gone weirdly high for a moment, and he looked expectantly at his mentor. The older man nodded slowly. “Yes… a kiss might be an expression of love.”

“Thank you, mentor! I knew you’d be able to help.” 

Kidd said goodbye to the two strangers who disappeared back into the jungle, and turned to Adé with a triumphant smirk. “True Love’s Kiss. So simple we should have been able to guess.”

It didn’t sound simple though, Adé still had no idea how to break the spell. “What’s True Love’s Kiss, and where do we find it?”

Kidd was grinning and scooped the kitten up from his perch on Adé’s shoulder and holding him up in front of his face. “It’s not something you  _ find, _ it’s something you  _ give. _ Kenway’s true love has to kiss him to break the spell.” 

“Kenway’s true love? How are we going to make gold kiss him?”

Kidd snorted and then his face fell. “Oh no, you’re right. Who is Kenway’s true love? We can’t just drag him around to every little port in the West Indies to test every single  _ dancer. _ ”

Adé took the kitty back and started walking towards the ship, now that he knew that True Love’s Kiss meant, he knew what to do even if Kidd didn’t. “Young master Kidd, you seem confused by what love means. It not something on offer from the  _ dancers. _ ”

“Then what, where are you going to take him?” 

He smiled at the confused young man. “Bristol. I’m taking him home to his wife.”

* * *

Adéwalé had left Captain Kidd standing slack jawed on the beach while he returned to the Jackdaw and ordered they set sail for Ol’ England.

It was a long journey and Kenway kept up his nerve fraying shenanigans the whole way. The tiny fur ball never seemed to run out of joy for doing all the most dangerous things available on the ship, but they all got used to it, even if it did drive them mad. He also never grew during the journey. George told him the kitten should have more than tripled in size since they found him, but he’d stayed just as tiny as ever.

They were sailing into the Bristol Channel, and Adé was in the Captain’s cabin trying to find something to tell him exactly where Caroline Kenway née Scott lived, when George threw open the door and rushed inside.

“Mr Adéwalé! It’s Kenway, sir! He fell in the drink!”

For a split second, he thought the young sailor was telling him they’d come all this way just to lose the damn cat, but then George set down the tiny and soaking wet kitten on the desk. “He’s really cold, he should stay in here where it’s warm or he might catch his death.”

Kenway looked much smaller than usual and really, really angry. He screamed tiny angry little kitten screams between trying to shake the water off and shivering so hard he almost lost his balance. It was hilarious and Adé laughed heartily as he pulled out a handkerchief from a drawer and dried the wet fur best he could. 

The result was slightly less wet and angry cat, but the shivering continued so he picked the damp menace up and let him soak up body heat from his shoulder. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson now. Playing around on a ship is dangerous. What if they hadn’t been able to fish you back up? You think you could have swam to shore? I don’t think so.”

Kenway answered him with a bird-like trill and yawned, pushing his little face into Adé’s neck and falling asleep.

* * *

Eventually he did find an address to Caroline, and as soon as they docked he made a beeline for her house. Dressed in his best trousers, shirt, and coat. He was nervous. Much more nervous than when he had to break the news to Kenway’s friends in Nassau. At least he knew those people,  _ and _ they were sailors. All sailors, no matter how skeptical knew not to underestimate the sea and what strangeness might hide in its depths. But these were not sailors, these were just ordinary towns folk who might not believe him at all and throw him out without even trying to save Kenway.

Then he was there, standing in front of the door with nothing left to do but knock, so he did and heard a woman’s voice from inside. 

When the door opened, he was a bit surprised. The woman didn’t really look like Kenway had described her, or like the tattoo on his arm. She was much older, greyer, plumper than expected. As soon as the woman took in his appearance, she gave a little squeak and covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh no, it’s Edward, isn’t it? Something’s happened to Edward?”

He didn’t get a chance to reply before the woman raised her voice. “Caroline! Come quick! There’s someone here about Edward!”

Then she bustled him inside and pushed him down into a chair. “I’m Elisabeth Scott, dear. Edward’s mother in law.”

He heard running steps and then a young woman burst through the door, fiery red hair flying around her face. Yes,  _ this _ was Kenway’s Caroline.

“What’s happened to Edward? Where is my husband? Is he injured? Is he dead?”

Her words were rushed, but her voice steady. The voice of a woman who’d been waiting for bad news a long time.

“Mrs Kenway, Mrs Scott, I am Adéwalé, Edward’s Quartermaster. Your husband is not dead, or injured, but something serious has happened to him.”

Both women looked relieved and worried, and Caroline moaned and wrung her hands. “Oh no, no, is he in prison? Are they going to hang him?”

Adé shook his head and took a deep breath. “No, he’s… he’s right here. Actually.” He fumbled in his pocket where the kitten was sleeping and pulled him out, showing him off to the women.

They stared at him.

“He’s right here. He’s the cat.”

They stared some more and then Caroline snorted. “Is this a joke? Did Edward put you up to this? He’s been gone I don’t know how long and he thinks this is a good way to announce his return?” Her face darkened and she pointed at the door. “Get out.”

Adé shook his head and stayed in his chair. “No.”

“I said. Get. Out.” 

He could see that she was livid, but he knew that if he left they’d never let him back in to explain.

“With all due respect, mam. No, I’m not leaving until I get what I came here for.”

“What? What did you come here for? Money? Does it look like we have any money?”

“Please just listen to me, Mrs Kenway, and I’ll explain everything.”

Caroline huffed and crossed her arms. “Fine, talk. But then you’d better be getting out of here.”

He glanced at the older Elisabeth who was standing stiffly with her back against the wall, looking very uncomfortable.

“Some time ago we encountered a sea witch whom Edward… angered. And as revenge, she turned him into this kitten.”

Caroline scoffed out a harsh laugh. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Get out.”

“No.”

“Get out!”

“Make me.”

Caroline’s mouth fell open at the taunt, and then snapped shut. If he didn’t want to leave, there really wasn’t anything the two women could do. She waved a hand at him to continue.

“We looked for a way to break the curse on your husband and were told that the solution is something called True Love’s Kiss.”

Caroline’s mouth fell open again. “That’s why you’re here? You want me to kiss the kitten to turn it into Edward?”

“Yes.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“And if I do it, you’ll leave? Even when the cat doesn’t turn into my husband?”

“Yes.”

With all the talking in the room, Kenway had woken up and was sitting, groggy and yawning, on Adé’s palm when he raised it towards Caroline. She picked the kitten up gently and looked at it for a few moments. It looked back and raised a tiny, questioning meow at her.

Caroline glanced at Adé and he could see that she was fighting a smile. “It’s very cute. Maybe I should keep it when it doesn’t turn into Edward. A cat would probably be a better husband than he is, anyway.” 

Then she lifted the kitten to her lips and gave his tiny nose a kiss. Adé held his breath through it all and hoped that Caroline’s lack of  _ faith _ in the solution wouldn’t ruin it.

Then there was a sound like a rushing, crashing wave in the small room, and Adé could have sworn he heard the sea witch’s laughter in the middle of that roaring. The sudden sound made Elisabeth scream, and then she screamed again when she saw the spot where her daughter had just stood.

In the young woman’s place sat a tiny ginger kitten, right next to the tiny ginger kitten that was Kenway.

Adéwalé cursed a long, colorful string of the worst words and phrases he’d learned at sea before taking a deep breath and grabbing the hysterical Elisabeth by the shoulders, shaking her hard. “Calm yourself, Mrs Scott! It’s behavior is not helping!”

The woman continued to shout. “My daughter! My Caroline! She’s gone !”

Adé raised his voice at her, letting it boom in the small room. “She’s not _gone_! She’s been turned into a  _ cat _ !”

Elisabeth started sobbing and sank into the chair Adé had vacated. “What do we do? They’re _both_ cats now!”

He kneeled by her chair and patted her hand awkwardly. “I don’t know. I was told this would work, and now I don’t have any idea what to do.”

She sniffed back tears and accepted the handkerchief he gave her gratefully. He silently cursed some more while she blew her nose.

“Where did they go?” Elisabeth’s voice was thick with tears and confusion and he turned around. The kittens were no longer sitting in the middle of the floor. 

Getting down on hands and knees, he scanned the floor under the furniture and quickly found them. They were hiding under the sofa, except hiding wasn’t really the right word.

Adé huffed with irritation. “Really, Kenway? You think that’s appropriate right now?”

Elisabeth got down on the floor too and looked in under the sofa. As soon as she saw the kittens she scoffed loudly and got to her feet. “Yeah, that’s Kenway alright. They never could keep their paws off each other.”

He got to his feet too and dusted his knees off. “So, what do we do now?”

Elisabeth sank down in her chair again and sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Can I… leave them here with you? It was hard enough to keep one wild kitten alive out at sea, I don’t think I could handle two of them.”

Elisabeth sighed again. “Yes, I suppose that’s the only reasonable thing.” Then she shook her finger at him. “But the moment you figure out how to fix this, you’re coming right back here, you understand?”

He nodded gravely and left to return to the Jackdaw, wondering how he would tell them what happened. The kitten that was Kenway did not notice him leaving, too wrapped up in his little kitten wife.

The End.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, that was weird. Was it well written? No. Was it supposed to be? No. It was fun though, for me anyway. I hope you had fun too, but if not... at least there were pictures of cute kittens to look at. :)
> 
> Oh, and I decided that Jenny doesn’t exist in this story. It just felt too messy. Would she not be turned into a cat and have to live with her parents being kittens? Sad. Or would she turn, but into an even younger kitten? Complicated. So… No kids. Only kittens! And pirates.


End file.
